Wells Fargo Express Celerity wagon, built 1858-1861. Museum of Western Film History, Lone Pine, CA, USA.

This 3-seat, 9-passenger red Wells Fargo Express coach carried US Mail and passengers on rough roads in the West. This Celerity wagon was made by John Butterfield between 1858-1861 and much later converted with disc brakes for parade use. It was designed with half the weight of standard coaches and a lower floor for better shock absorption on rough, sandy, and steep trails. The name "Celerity" comes from the Latin root celer meaning swift. Celerity wagons covered 70 to 120 miles per day (averaging 4 to 7 miles per hour), making stops about every 20 miles. The Butterfield Overland Mail Trail was a stagecoach route operating from 1857 to 1861, carrying US mail starting from Memphis, Tennessee and St. Louis (Tipton), Missouri. The service routes converged at Fort Smith, Arkansas and passed through Indian Territory, New Mexico, and southern Arizona, ending in San Francisco. This particular wagon served the California towns of Stockton, Jamestown, Sonora, and Columbia. To discourage theft, gold and silver was not allowed on board; and the Butterfield Stage system was only attacked once, by Apaches. Fans of movies and television shouldn't miss the Museum of Western Film History, 701 S. Main Street, Lone Pine, California, 93545, USA. Web site: www.lonepinefilmhistorymuseum.org

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Filename: 1507CAL-1418.jpg
Copyright: © Tom Dempsey / PhotoSeek.com
Image Size: 6000x4000 / 6.3MB; http://www.photoseek.com/; history past transportation
Contained in galleries: California: Sierras: Alabama Hills, Western Film / History, 2015 Jul 5-23: all: Sierra Nevada + Castle Crags, California

This 3-seat, 9-passenger red Wells Fargo Express coach carried US Mail and passengers on rough roads in the West. This Celerity wagon was made by John Butterfield between 1858-1861 and much later converted with disc brakes for parade use. It was designed with half the weight of standard coaches and a lower floor for better shock absorption on rough, sandy, and steep trails. The name "Celerity" comes from the Latin root celer meaning swift. Celerity wagons covered 70 to 120 miles per day (averaging 4 to 7 miles per hour), making stops about every 20 miles. The Butterfield Overland Mail Trail was a stagecoach route operating from 1857 to 1861, carrying US mail starting from Memphis, Tennessee and St. Louis (Tipton), Missouri. The service routes converged at Fort Smith, Arkansas and passed through Indian Territory, New Mexico, and southern Arizona, ending in San Francisco. This particular wagon served the California towns of Stockton, Jamestown, Sonora, and Columbia. To discourage theft, gold and silver was not allowed on board; and the Butterfield Stage system was only attacked once, by Apaches. Fans of movies and television shouldn't miss the Museum of Western Film History, 701 S. Main Street, Lone Pine, California, 93545, USA. Web site: www.lonepinefilmhistorymuseum.org